IRLF 


B    3 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


- 


/\ 


THE  FIGHT 

AT  J    S  \     J, 

DAME  EUROPA'S  SCHOOL 


SHOWING    HOW 

THE  GERMAN  BOY  THRASHED  THE  FRENCH  BOY ; 

AND   HOW 

THE  ENGLISH  BOY  LOOKED   ON. 


With  33  ILLUSTKATIONS  by 

,        S^ 


YORK: 

FRANCIS  B.  FELT  &  CO.,  455  BBOOME  STBEET. 


<2A(  <-/ 


Entered,  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 

seventy-one,  by 

FRANCIS   B.   FELT    &    CO., 
In  the  Office  of  the  Librarian  of  Congress,  at  Washington. 


POWERS  A  MACGOWAN,  PRINTERS. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

i. — Showing  how  the    German   Boy   thrashed   the    French  Boy; 

and  how  the  English  Boy  looked  on,   ,  Title. 

2.— The  Bully  Boy  that  did  it,  8 

3. — Mrs.  Europa's  School,  9 

4. — The  five  Monitors,  10 

5. — John  and  Louis  poking  their  noses  into  other   people's  busi 
ness,              .  11 

6.— The  Treaty  of  Peace,  1856,  11 

7. — John  in  his  workshop,  .     12 

8. — The  studious  and  peaceable  Boy,        .  13 

9. — The  Uncle  of  his  Nephew,  14 

10. — Laying  their  heads  together,  15 

11.— It  has  pleased  Providence  that  I  should  be  stout,       .            .     16 

12.— The  Light  Brigade,        .  17 

13. — Louis  training,  18 

14.— The  Needle  Gun,  18 

15. — The  Spanish  Crown  going  begging,         .  18 

16. — Louis  objects,      .  19 

17. — Louis  has  been  grossly  insulted,  2l 

18. — Louis  not  quite  well,  22 

19. — The  Baptism  of  Fire,  23 

20. — William  writes  home,  23 

21.— Hold  me,  or  I'll  fight  both  of  them.'  24 


M123845 


r 


THE  FIGHT 

AT 

Dame   Europa's  School. 


ILLUSTRATED  BY 


THOMAS  NAST. 


us.  EUKOPA  kept  a  Dame's  School,  where  Boys 
were  well  instructed  in  modern  languages,  forti 
fication,  and  the  use  of  the  globes.  Her  con 
nection  and  credit  were  good,  for  there  was  no 
other  school  where  so  sound  and  liberal  an  edu 
cation  could  be  obtained.  Many  of  her  old  pupils  held  Master 
ships  in  other  important  establishments,  two  of  which  may  be 
mentioned  as  consisting  chiefly  of  dark,  swarthy  youths,  decidedly 
stupid  and  backward  for  their  years  ;  while  a  third  was  a  large 
modern  Academy  full  of  rather  cocky  fellows,  who  talked  big  about 


10    ""«  V'  t«'c  :    THE   FIGHT   AT 


thfe  I  ttfsttfeuiions  roj"    t}ie>.r  school,    and  talked,  for  the  most   part, 
through"  their  nose. 

These  lads  at  Mrs.  Europa's  were  of  all  sorts  and  sizes — good  Boys 
and  bad  Boys,  sharp  Boys  and  slow  Boys,  industrious  Boys  and  idle 
Boys,  peaceable  Boys  and  pugnacious  Boys,  well-behaved  Boys  and 
vulgar  Boys  ;  and  of  course  the  good  old  dame  could  not  possibly 
manage  them  all.  So,  as  she  did  not  like  the  masters  to  be  prying 
about  the  play-ground  out  of  school,  she  chose  from  among  the 
biggest  and  most  trustworthy  of  her  pupils  five  monitors,  who  had 
authority  over  the  rest  of  the  Boys,  and  kept  the  unruly  ones  in 


The  Five  Monitors. 

order.  These  five,  at  the  time  of  which  we  are  writing,  were  Louis, 
William,  Aleck,  Joseph  and  John. 

If  a  dispute  arose  among  any  of  the  smaller  Boys,  the  monitors 
had  to  examine  into  its  cause,  and  if  possible  to' settle  it  amicably. 
Should  it  be  necessary  to  fight  the  matter  out,  they  were  to  see  fair 
play,  stop  the  encounter  when  it  had  gone  far  enough,  and  at  all 
times  to  uphold  justice,  and  prevent  tyranny  and  bullying. 

The  power  thus  placed  in  their  liands  was,  for  the  most  part,  exer 
cised  with  discretion,  and  to  the  manifest  advantage  of  the  school. 
Trumpery  little  quarrels  were  patched  up,  which  might  otherwise 
have  led  to  the  patching  up  of  bruises  and  black  eyes  ;  and  many  a 
time  when  two  little  urchins  had  retired  with  their  backers  into  a 
corner  of  the  play-ground  to  fight  about  nothing  at  all,  did  the 


DAME   EUROPA'S   SCHOOL. 


11 


dreaded  appearance  of  Master  Louis  or  Master  John  put  them  to 
flight,  or  force  them  to  shake  hands.     The  worst  of  it  was  that 


John  and  Louis  poking  their  noses  into  other  people's  business. 

some  of  the  monitors  themselves  occasionally  took  to  bullying,  and 
then  of  course  it  became  more  than  ever  the  duty  of  the  rest  to 
interfere.  There  lingered  a  tradition  in  the  school  of  a  terrific  row 
in  times  past,  when  a  monitor  named  Nicholas  made  a  most  unpro 
voked  attack  upon  a  quiet  but  very  dirty  little  Boy  called  Constan- 
tine.  John  and  Louis  stuck  up  for  the  child  boldly,  and  gave 
Nicholas  such  a  thrashing  that  he  never  got  over  it,  and  soon  after 
wards  left  the  school. 


The  Treaty  of  Peace,  1856.— Aleck,    "  Old  Nick  gave  you  chaps  all  you  wanted." 


12 


THE   FIGHT   AT 


.  Each  of  the  upper  Boys  at  Dame  Europa's  had  a  little  garden  of 
his  own,  in  a  corner  of  the  play-ground.  The  Boys  took  great 
interest  in  their  gardens,  and  kept  them  very  neatly.  In  some  were 
grown  flowers  and  fruits,  in  others  mustard  and  cress  or  radishes, 
which  the  young  cultivators  would  sell  to  one  another  and  take  into 
the  Hall,  to  help  down  their  bread  and  scrape  at  tea  time.  Every 
garden  had  in  the  middle  of  it  an  arbor,  fitted  up  according  to  the 
taste  and  means  of  its  owner.  Louis  had  the  prettiest  arbor  of  all, 
like  a  grotto  in  fairy  land,  full  of  the  most  beautiful  flowers  and 
ferns,  with  a  vine  creeping  over  the  roof,  and  a  little  fountain  play 
ing  inside.  John's  garden  was  pretty  enough,  and  more  productive 
than  any  ;  owing  its  chief  beauty,  however,  to  the  fact  that  it  was 

J,T>|E    NEUTRAL     SHOP 


John  in  his  workshop. 


an  Island,  separated  from  all  the  rest  by  a  stream,  between  twenty 
and  thirty  feet  wide.  But  his  arbor  was  a  mere  tool-house,  where 
he  shut  himself  up  almost  all  play-time,  turning  at  his  lathe,  or 
making  nets,  or  sharpening  knives,  or  cutting  out  boats  to  sail 
on  the  river.  Still,  John  was  fond  of  a  holiday  now  and  then  ; 
and  when  he  was  tired  of  slaving  away  in  his  own  garden,  he 
would  punt  himself  across  the  brook,  and  pay  a  visit  to  his 
neighbor  Louis,  who  was  always  cheerful  and  hospitable,  and 


DAME   EUROPA'S   SCHOOL. 


13 


glad  to  see  him.  Many  and  many  a  happy  hour  did  he  spend 
in  his  friend's  arbor,  lying  at  full  length  on  the  soft  moss,  and  eating 
grapes  and  drinking  lemonade,  and  thinking  how  much  pleasanter 
it  was  over  there  than  in  his  own  close,  fusty  shop,  with  its  dirt  and 
litter,  and  its  eternal  smell  of  tar,  and  nets,  and  shavings.  Anyhow, 
thought  Johnnie,  I  make  more  profit  out  of  my  garden  than  any  of 
the  ether  fellows,  so  I  must  put  up  with  a  few  bad  smells.  For 
Dame  Europa,  by  way  of  encouraging  habits  of  industry,  allowed 
the  Boys  to  engage  pretty  extensively  in  commercial  pursuits,  and 
it  was  said  that  Master  John,  who  had  been  working  unusually  hard 


3 

The  studious  and  peaceable  Boy. 


THE   FIGHT   AT 


of  late,  had  sometimes  trebled  or  quadrupled  his  half-yearly   pocket 
money  out  of  the  produce  of  his  tool-house  and  garden. 

By  the  side  of  Louis'  domain  was  that  of  William,  the  biggest 
and  strongest  of  all  the  monitors.  He  set  up,  however,  for  being  a 
very  studious  and  peaceable  Boy,  and  made  the  rest  of  the  school 
believe  that  he  had  never  provoked  a  quarrel  in  his  life.  He  was 
rather  fond  of  singing  psalms  and  carrying  Testaments  about  in 
his  pocket ;  and  many  of  the  Boys  thought  Master  William  a  bit  of 
a  humbug.  He  was  proud  as  anybody  of  his  garden,  but  he  never 


The  Uncle  of  his  Nephew. 

went  to  work  in  it  without  casting  envious  eyes  on  two  little  flower 
beds  which  now  belonged  to  Louis,  but  which  ought  by  rights,  he 
thought,  to  belong  to  him.  Indeed,  it  was  notorious  that  in  old 
days,  before  either  Louis  or  William  came  to  the  school,  one  of 
Louis'  predecessors  in  the  garden  had  pulled  up  some  stakes  which 
served  for  a  boundary,  and  cribbed  a  piece  of  his  neighbor's  ground. 
For  a  long  while  William  had  set  his  heart  upon  getting  it  back 
again  ;  but  he  kept  his  wishes  to  himself,  and  nobody  suspected 
that  so  good  and  religious  a  Boy  could  be  guilty  of  coveting  what 
was  admitted  by  the  whole  school  to  be  now  the  property  of  another. 
Only  one  Boy,  his  favorite  fag,  did  William  take  into  his  confidence 
in  the  matter.  This  was  a  sharp,  shrewd  lad  named  Mark,  not  over 
scrupulous  in  what  he  did,  full  of  deep  tricks  and  dodges,  and  so 
cunning  that  the  old  Dame  herself,  though  she  had  the  eyes  of  a 


DAME   EUROPA'S   SCHOOL. 


15 


hawk,  never  could  catch  him  out  in  anything  absolutely  wrong.  To 
this  smart  youth  "William  one  day  whispered  his  desires,  as  they  sat 
together  in  the  summer-house,  smoking  and  drinking  beer;  for  I 


?/?'- 


Laying  their  heads  together. 


am  sorry  to  say  that  they  both  smoked  and  drank  almost  all  their 
play-time,  though  of  course  it  was  against  the  rules  of  the  school. 

"  There  is  only  one  way  to  do  it,"  said  Mark.  "If  you  want  the 
flower-beds  you  must  fight  Louis  for  them,  and  I  believe  you  will 
lick  him  all  to  smash  ;  but  you  must  fight  him  alone." 

"  How  do  you  mean?  "  replied  William. 

"I  mean,  you  must  take  care  that  the  other  monitors  don't  inter- 
2 


16 


THE   FIGHT   AT 


fere  in  the  quarrel.     If  they  do,  they  will  be  sure  to  go  against  you. 
Kemember  what  a  grudge  Joseph  owes  you  for  the  licking  you  gave 

him  not  long  ago  ;  and  Aleck,  though 
to  be  sure  Louis  took  little  Constan- 
tine's  part  against  him  in  that  great 
bullying  row,  is  evidently  beginning 
to  grow  jealous  of  your  influence  in 
the  school.  You  see,  old  fellow,  you 
have  grown  so  much  lately,  and  filled 
out  so  wonderfully,  that  you  are  get 
ting  really  quite  formidable.  "Why, 
I  recollect  the  time  when  you  were 
quite  a  little  chap!  " 

"Yes,"  said  William,  turning  up 
his  eyes  devoutly  ;  "it  has  pleased 
Providence  that  I  should  be  stout." 

"I  dare  say,  but  it  has  not  pleased 
the  other  monitors.  And  they  were 
very  angry,  you  know,  when  you  took 
those  little  gardens  belonging  to  some 
of  the  small  Boys,  and  tacked  them 
on  to  yours." 

"But,  my  dear  Mark,  I  did  that 
by  your  own  particular  advice." 

"Of  course  you  did,  and  quite 
right,  too.  The  little  beggars  were 
not  strong  enough  to  work,  and  it 
was  far  better  that  you  should  look  after  their  gardens  for  them, 
and  give  them  a  share  of  the  produce.  All  the  same,  no  doubt, 
it  made  the  other  monitors  jealous,  and  I  am  not  sure  that  the 
old  Dame  herself  thought  it  quite  fair." 

"  Did  you  ever  find  out,  Mark,  what  he  thought  of  it  ?"  asked 
William,  winking  his  left  eye,  and  jerking  his  thumb  over  his  left 
shoulder  toward  the  island. 

"  Oh,"  answered  Mark,  with  a  scornful  laugh,  "  never  you  mind 
him.  He  won't  meddle  with  anybody.  He  is  a  deal  too  busy  in 
that  filthy,  dirty  shop  of  his,  making  things  to  sell  to  the  other 
Boys.  Bah  !  it  makes  me  sick  to  think  how  that  place  smells!" 


u  It  has  pleased  Providence  that 
should  be  stout." 


DAME   EUROPA'S   SCHOOL. 


17 


and  the  fastidious  youth  took  a  long  draught  of  beer,  by  way  of 
recalling  some  more  agreeable  sensations. 

"He  is  an  uncommonly  plucky  fellow,"  said  William,  when  they 
had  smoked  for  a  while  in  silence,  "and  as  strong  as  a  lion." 

'  *  As  plucky  and  as  strong  as  you  please,  my  friend,  but  as  lazy  as 

,"  and  here  again  Mark,  being  altogether  at  a  loss  for  a 

simile,  sought  one  at  the  bottom  of  the  pewter.  "Besides, "he 
continued,  when  he  had  slaked  his  thirst,  "he  is  never  ready. 
Look  what  a  precious  mess  he  made  of  that  affair  with  Nicholas. 
It  was  before  you  came,  you  know,  but  I  recollect  it  well.  Why, 
poor  Johnnie  had  no  shoes  to  fight  in,  and  they  had  it  out  in  the 
stoniest  part  of  the  play-ground,  too,  where  his  feet  were  cut  to 
pieces.  And  then,  again,  he  took  it  all  so  precious  cool  that  he  got 
late  for  breakfast  in  the  morning,  and  had  to  fight  on  an  empty 


The  Light  Brigade. 

stomach.  Pluck  and  strength  are  all  very  well,  but  a  fellow  must 
eat  and  drink,  and  have  a  pair  of  decent  shoes  to  stand  up  in." 

"  And  why  couldn't  he  get  a  pair  of  decent  shoes  ?"  asked  Wil 
liam.  "He  has  got  heaps  of  money." 

"Heaps  upon  heaps,  but  he  wanted  it  for  something  else — to  buy 
a  new  lathe,  I  think  it  was  ;  and  so  he  sat  grinding  away  in  his  dirty 
shop,  and  thinking  of  nothing  but  saving  up  his  sixpences  and  shil 
lings." 

"  Then,  my  dear  Mark,  what  do  you  advise  me  to  do  ?" 

"Ah,  that  is  not  so  easy  to  say.  Give  me  time  to  think,  and 
when  I  have  an  idea  I  will  let  you  know.  Only,  whatever  you  do, 
take  care  to  put  Master  Louis  in  the  wrong.  Don't  pick  a  quarrel 


18 


THE   FIGHT   AT 


with  him,  but  force  him,  by  quietly  provoking  him,  to  pick  a  quar 
rel  with  you.  Give  out  that  you  are  still  peaceably  disposed,  and 
carry  your  Testament  about  as  usual.  That  will  put  old  Dame 
Europa  off  hei  guard,  and  she  will  believe  in  you  as  much  as  ever. 


The  Needle-gun. 

The  rest  you  may  leave  to  me  ; 
but,  in  the  meantime,  keep  your 
self  in   good  condition  ;    and  if 
you  can  hear  of  any  one  in  town 
who  gives  lessons 
in  bruising,  just 
go  to  him  and  get 
s  put  up  to  a  few 
*  dodges.      I  know 

Louis  Training.  .  „  .,     , 

for  a  fact  that 

Louis  has  been  training  hard,  and  exercising  his 
I  fists,  ever  since  you  gave  that  tremendous  thrash 
ing  to  Joseph." 

The  bell  now  rang  for  afternoon  school,  and  the 
two  friends  hastily  smothered  their  cigars,  and  fin 
ished  between  them  what  was  left  of  the  beer. 
Mark  ran  off  to  the  pump  to  wash  his  hands,  which 
no  amount  of  scrubbing  would  ever  make  decently 
clean,  while  William  changed  his  coat  and  walked 
sedately  across  the  play-ground,  humming  to  him 
self,  not  in  very  good  tune,  a  verse  of  the  Old  Hun 
dredth  Psalm. 

An  opportunity  of  putting  their  little  plot  into 
execution  soon  occurred.  A  garden  became  vacant 
on  the  other  side  of  Louis'  little  territory,  which 
none  of  the  boys  seemed  much  inclined  to  accept.  ™  c 

J  ^      The  Spanish  Crown 

It  was  a  troublesome  piece  of  ground,  exposed  to     going  begging. 


DAME   EUROPA'S   SCHOOL. 


19 


constant  attacks  from  the  town  cads,  who  used  to  overrun  it  in  the 
night  and  pull  up  the  newly  planted  flowers.     The  cats,  too,  were 
fond  ©f  prowling  about  in  it,  and  making  havoc  among  the  beds. 
Nobody  bid  for  it,  therefore,  and  it  seemed  to  be  going  begging. 
"Don't  you  think,"  said  Mark  one  dajr  to  his  friend  and  patron, 

'  '  that  your  little  cousin, 
the  new  Boy,  might  as 
well  have  that  garden  ?" 
"  I  don't  see  why  he 
should  not,  if  he  wants 
it,  "  replied  William,  by 
no  means  deep  enough 
to  understand  what  his 
faithful  fag  was  driving 
at. 

"It  will  be  so  nice 
for  Louis,  don't  you 
see,  to  have  William 
to  keep  him  in  check 
on  one  side,  and  Wil 
liam's  little  cousin  to 
watch  him  on  the  other 
side,"  observed  Mark, 
innocently. 

"Ah,  to  be  sure,"  ex 
claimed  William,  begin 
ning  to  wake  up,  "so  it 
will  ;  very  nice  indeed. 
Mark,  you  are  a  sly 
dog." 

"I  should  say,  if  you 
paid  Louis  the  compli 
ment  to  propose  it,  that 
it  is  such  a  delicate  lit 
tle  attention  as  he 


Louis  objects. 


would  never  forget  —  even  if  you  withdrew  the  proposal  afterwards." 
"Just  so,  my  Boy,  and  then  we  shall  have  to  fight.     But  look 
here,  won't  the  other  chaps  say  that  I  provoked  the  quarrel  ?  " 


20  THE   FIGHT   AT 


"Not  if  we  manage  properly,"  was  the  reply. 

"They  are  sure  to  fix  the  cause  of  dispute  on  Louis,  rather  than 
on  you.  You  are  such  a  peaceable  boy,  you  know  ;  and  he  has 
always  been  fond  of  a  shindy." 

So  Dame  Europa  was  asked  to  assign  the  vacant  garden  to  Wil 
liam's  little  cousin.  "Well,"  said  she,  "if  Louis  does  not  object, 
who  will  be  his  nearest  neighbor,  he  may  have  it. " 

"But  I  do  object,  ma'am,"  cried  Louis.  "I  very  particularly 
object.  I  don't  want  to  be  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  William  and 
his  cousins.  They  will  be  walking  through  my  garden  to  pay  each 
other  visits,  and  perhaps  throwing  balls  to  one  another  right  across 
my  lawn." 

"  Oh,  but  you  might  be  sure  that  I  should  do  nothing  unfair," 
said  William,  reproachfully.  "I  have  never  attacked  anybody,"  he 
continued,  fumbling  in  his  pocket  for  the  Testament,  and  bringing 
out  by  mistake  a  baccy  pouch  and  a  flask  of  brandy  instead,  which, 
however,  he  was  fortunately  quick  enough  to  conceal  before  the 
Dame  had  caught  sight  of  them. 

"That's  all  my  eye,"  said  Louis.  "I  don't  believe  in  your  piety. 
Come,  take  your  dear  little  relation  off,  and  give  him  one  of  the 
snug  corners  that  you  bagged  the  other  day  from  poor  Christian." 

"  Oh,  Louis,"  began  William,  looking  as  meek  as  possible,  "you 
know  I  never  bagged  anything.  I  am  a  domestic,  peace-loving 
Boy— 

"Very  much  so,  indeed,"  cried  Louis,  with  a  sneer.  "It's 
lessons  in  peacemaking,  I  suppose,  that  yon  have  been  taking  from 
the  '  Bummagem  Bruiser '  for  the  last  six  months  or  more  ;  the  fel 
low  that  bragged  to  a  friend  of  mine  that,  though  you  used  to  be 
the  clumsiest  fellow  he  ever  set  eyes  on,  he  had  made  you  as  sharp 
(t.f  a  needle  wii\i  your  fists." 

' '  A  friend  of  yours,  you  said,  did  you,  my  dear  ?  Perhaps  that 
was  the  '  Sheffield  Slasher, '  who  told  my  fag  Mark  that  he  had  made 
your  arms  strong  enough  to  throw  a  ball  or  a  stone  more  than  a 
hundred  yards." 

"Come,  come, "  interposed  the  Dame.  "I  can't  listen  to  such 
angry  words.  You  five  monitors  must  settle  the  matter  quietly 
among  yourselves  ;  but  no  fighting,  mind.  The  day  for  that  sort 


DAME   EUROPA'S   SCHOOL. 


21 


of  thing  is  quite  gone  by."  And  the  old  lady  toddled  off,  and  left 
the  Boys  alone. 

"I  wouldn't  press  it,  Bill,  if  I  were  you,"  said  John,  in  his  deep 
gruff  voice,  looking  out  of  his  shop  window  on  the  other  side  of  the 
water.  "  I  think  it's  rather  hard  lines  for  Louis  ;  I  do  indeed." 

"Always  ready  to  oblige  you,  my  dear  John,"  said  William  ;  and 
so  the  new  Boy's  claim  to  the  garden  was  withdrawn. 

"What  shall  I  do  now,  Mark?"  asked  William  turning  to  his 
friend.  "  It  seems  to  me  that  there  is  an  end  of  it  all." 

"  Not  a  bit,"  was  the  reply.  "  Louis  is  still  as  savage  as  a  bear 
He'll  break  out  directly  ;  you  see  if  he  don't." 


Louis  has  been  grossly  insulted. 

"  I  have  been  grossly  insulted,"  began  Louis  at  last,  in  a  towering 
passion,  "  and  I  shall  not  be  satisfied  unless  William  promises  me 
never  to  make  any  such  underhand  attempts  to  get  the  better  of  me 
again." 

"  Tell  him  to  be  hanged,"  whispered  Mark. 

"You  be no,"  said  William  recollecting  himself,  "I  never 


22  THE   FIGHT   AT 


use  bad  language.  My  friend,"  he  continued,  "  I  cannot  promise 
you  anything  of  the  kind." 

' "Then  I  shall  lick  you  till  you  do,  you  psalm-singing  humbug," 
shouted  Louis. 

"  Come  on  !"  said  William,  lifting  up  his  hand  as  if  to  commend 
his  cause  to  Heaven,  and  looking  sanctimoniously  out  of  the  whites 
of  his  eyes.  And  it  was  well  for  him  that  Louis  did  not  take  him  at 
his  word  ;  for,  while  one  hand  was  lifted  up,  the  other  was  encum 
bered  with  a  bundle  of  good  books  which  he  was  carrying  to  his 
summer-house,  and  it  would  not  have  required  much  to  knock  him 
down.  But  Louis  did  not  feel  quite  well.  He  had  taken  a  blue  pill 
that  morning,  and  he  put  off  the  attack,  therefore,  till  he  should 
meet  his  adversary  again. 


Louis  not  quite  well. 

Meanwhile,  by  Mark's  advice,  William  ran  off  to  the  Brummagem 
Bruiser,  who  put  him  up  to  all  the  latest  dodges,  and  exercised  him 
in  the  noble  art  to  such  good  purpose  that  on  his  first  encounter 
with  Louis  after  breakfast  the  next  morning,  he  hit  out  a  crushing 
blow  from  the  shoulder  and  knocked  his  enemy  down.  Louis  was 
soon  on  his  legs  again,  and  he,  too,  did  good  execution  with  his 
fists ;  but  he  was  clearly  overmatched,  and  at  the  end  of  the  first 
round  he  had  been  punished  pretty  severely. 

"  Hot  work,  isn't  it,  my  boy  ?"  said  William  chaffing  him  as  he 

mopped  the  perspiration  from  his  steaming  forehead.     "This  is 

|    what  you  call  your  baptism  of  fire,  I  suppose,  aye  ?"     Then  he  wrote 


DAME   EUROPA'S   SCHOOL. 


home  to  his  mother,  on  the  back  of  a  half-penny  post  card,  so  that 
all  the  letter-carriers  might  see  how  pious  he  was  :  "  Dear  Mamma, 


"  The  Baptism  of  Fire." 

I  am  fighting  for  my  Fatherland,  as  you  know  I  call  my  garden.  It 
is  a  fine  name,  and  creates  sympathy.  Glorious  news  !  Aided  by 
Providence,  I  have  hit  Louis  in  the  eye.  Thou  m.ay'st  imagine  his 
feelings.  What  wonderful  events  has  Heaven  thus  brought  about ! 

Your  affectionate  son,  William."     Then  he 

sang  a  hymn,  and  went  on  with  the  second 

round. 

Meanwhile,   the   other   monitors   looked 

quietly  on,    not  knowing  exactly  what  to 

do. 

"Oughtn't  I  to  interfere  ?"  asked  John, 

addressing  one  of  his  favorite  fags. 

"No,"  said  Billy,  who  was  head  fag,  and 

twisted  Johnnie  around  his  finger.     ' '  You 

just  sit  where  you  are.    You  will  only  make 

a  mess  of  it,    and    offend   both   of  them. 

Give  out  that  you  are  a  '  neutral. '  " 

"Neutral  !  "  growled  John,  "I  hate  neu 
trals.  It  seems  to  me  a  cold-blooded,  cowardly  thing,  to  sit  by  and 
see  two  big  fellows  smash  each  other  all  to  pieces  about  nothing  at 


AVilliam  writes  home. 


THE   FIGHT    AT 


all.     They  are  both  in  the  wrong,   and  they  ought  not  to  fight. 
Let  me  go  in  at  them." 


Johnnie.—"  Hold  me,  or  I'll  fight  both  of  them  !  " 

"No,  no,"  said  Bobby,  a  clever,  fair-headed  boy,  who  kept 
John's  accounts,  and  took  care  of  his  money.  "  You  really  can't 
afford  it ;  and,  besides,  you've  got  110  clothes  to  go  in.  There  is  not 
a  fellow  in  the  school  who  wouldn't  laugh  at  you,  if  you  stood  up  in 
his  garden.  Sit  still  and  grind  away,  old  chap,  and  make  some  more 
money,  and  be  thankful  that  you  live  on  an  island,  and  can  take 
things  easily." 

"  Well,"  said  John  sulkily,  "I  don't  half  like  it,  though  certainly 
my  clothes  are  not  very  respectable,  and  there  is  no  time  now  to 
mend  them.  But  look  here,  Bob  ;  I  mean  to  go  across  and  help  to 
sponge  the  poor  beggars,  if  they  get  mauled." 

"You  may  do  that,  and  welcome,"  replied  Bobby.  "You  will 
make  no  enemies  that  way,  and  it  may  cost  you,  perhaps,  eighteen 
pence  in  ointment  and  plaster.  But,  bless  you,  Johnnie,  if  you  were 


DAME  EUROPA'S   SCHOOL. 


25 


u  What  can't  be  cured  must  be  endured.' 


THE   FIGHT   AT 


to  rig  yourself  out  well  enough  to  hold  your  own  against  Louis  or 
William,  you  would  have  to  fork  out  a  ten  pound  note  or  more." 

John  went  on  with  his  work  in  rather  a  grumpy  humor,  for  he 
had  always  been  looked  up  to  as  the  leading  Boy  in  the  school,  and 
he  did  not  like  to  play  the  second  fiddle.  He  felt  sure  that  if  he  had 
been  half  so  natty  and  well  got  up  as  he  used  to  be,  he  might  have 
stopped  the  fight  in  a  moment.  For  the  next  half  hour  he  cursed 
Billy  and  Bobby,  and  all  the  other  little  sneaks  who  had  wormed 
themselves  into  favor  with  him,  by  teaching  him  to  save  money. 
"  Hang  the  money  !"  growled  Johnnie  to  himself  ;  "I'd  give  up  half 
my  shop  to  get  my  old  prestige  back  again."  But  it  was  too  late 

now.  Nevertheless  he  had  his 
own  way  about  the  sponging, 
and  certainly  he  did  behave 
well  there.  At  the  end  of  every 
round  that  was  fought,  he  got 
across  the  stream  and  bathed 
poor  Louis'  head,  for  he  wanted 
help  the  most,  and  gave  him 
sherry  and  water  out  of  his 
own  flask.  ' '  I'm  so  very  sorry 
for  you,  my  dear  Louis,"  said 
he,  as  the  boy,  more  dead  than 
alive,  struggled  up  to  his  feet 
again. " 

"Thank  you  kindly,  John," 
said  Louis  ;  "but,  "he  added, 
looking  somewhat  reproachfully 
at  his  friend,  "why  don't  you 
separate  us  ?  Don't  you  see  that  this  great  brute  is  too  many  for 
me  ?  I  had  no  idea  that  he  could  fight  like  that. " 

"  What  can  I  do  ?  "  said  John.  "You  began  it,  you  know,  and 
you  really  must  fight  it  out.  I  have  no  power. " 

"So  it  seems,"  replied  Louis.  "Ah,  there  was  a  time — well, 
thank  you  kindly,  John,  for — the  sticking  plaster." 

"  Come  on  !  "  shouted  William,  thirsting  for  more  blood. 
"  Vive  la  guerre!"  cried  poor  Louis,  rushing  blindly  at  his  foe. 
Well  and  nobly  he  Bought,   but  he  could  not  stand  his  ground. 


John. — "Prestige!    Prestige!! 
my  lost  Prestige ! 


DAME   EUROPA'S   SCHOOL. 

When  he  did  hit,  indeed,  he  hit 
to  some  purpose ;  but  seldom  could 
he  reach  out  far  enough  to  do 
much  damage.    Foot  by  foot,  and 
yard  by  yard  he  gave  way,  till  at 
last  he  was  forced  to  take  refuge  in 
his  arbor,    from    the  window  of     _  ->OA\    -\_^ 
which  he  threw  stones  at  his  en 
emy  to  keep  him  back  from  follow-  "  Going  it  blind." 
ing. 

Louis  was  plainly  in  the  wrong.  He  ought  to  have  calculated  the 
other  boy's  strength  before  attacking  him,  and  he  deserved  a  licking 
for  his  rashness.  But  he  had  had  his  licking  now  ;  and  when  Wil 
liam,  who  talked  so  big  about  his  peaceable  disposition,  and  declared 
that  he  only  wanted  to  defend  his  "Fatherland,"  chased  him  right 
across  the  garden,  trampling  over  beds  and  borders  on  his  way,  and 
then  swore  that  he  would  break  down  his  beautiful  summer-house, 
and  bring  Louis  on  his  knees,  everybody  felt  that  the  other  monitors 
ought  to  interfere.  But  not  a  foot  would  they  stir.  Aleck  looked 
on  from  a  safe  distance,  wondering  which  of  the  combatants  would 
be  tired  first.  Joseph  stood  shaking  in  his  shoes,  not  daring  to  say 
a  word,  for  fear  William  should  turn  round  upon  him,  and  punch  his 
head  again  ;  and  John  sat  in  his  shop,  grinding  away  like  a  nigger 
at  a  new  rudder  and  a  pair  of  oars  which  he  was  cutting  out  for 
Louis'  boat,  in  case  he  wanted  to  take  advantage  of  the  brook — for 
which  service  Louis  would  pay  him  handsomely,  and  William  abuse 
him  cordially. 

"I  can't  help  it,"  said  John,  apologetically  ;  "  I'll  make  a  rudder 
and  some  oars  for  you  too,  and  a  boat  besides,  if  you  want  one — 
that  is,  of  course,  if  you  will  pay  me  well." 

"But  I  don't  want  one,"  answered  William  angrily.  "I  have  got 
no  water  to  float  it  in,  as  you  very  well  know."  By  which  it  will 
appear  that  John  did  not  make  many  friends  by  his  neutrality. 
"And  just  look  here,"  continued  William,  "do  jou  know  where 
these  cuts  on  my  forehead  came  from?  Why,  from  stones  which 
you  pitched  across  the  water  for  Louis  to  throw  at  me." 

"Can't  help  it,  Bill ;  it  is  the  law  of  neutrality." 

"Neutrality,  indeed!     I  call  it  Brutality."     And  so  William  went 


THE   FIGHT   AT 


across  the  garden  again,  leaving  Johnny  at  his  work — of  which, 
however,  he  began  to  feel  thoroughly  ashamed. 

"Come  and  help  a  fellow,  John,"  cried  Louis  in  despair  from  his 
arbor.  "I  don't  ask  you  to  remember  the  days  we  have  spent  in 
here  together,  when  you  have  been  sick  of  your  own  shop.  But 
you  might  do  something  for  me,  now  that  I  am  in  such  a  desperate 
fix,  and  don't  know  which  way  to  turn." 

"I  am  very  sorry,  Louis,"  said  John,  "but  what  can  I  do?  It  is 
110  pleasure  to  me  to  see  you  thrashed.  On  the  contrary,  it  would 
pay  me  much  better  to  have  a  near  neighbor  well  off  and  cheerful 
than  crushed  and  miserable.  Why  don't  you  give  in,  Louis  ?  It  is 
of  no  mortal  use  to  go  on.  He  will  make  friends  directly  if  you 
will  only  give  back  the  two  little  strips  of  garden  ;  and  if  you  don't 
he  will  only  smash  your  arbor  to  pieces,  or  keep  you  shut  up  there 
all  dinner-time,  and  starve  you  out.  Give  in,  old  fellow.  There's 
no  disgrace  in  it.  Everybody  says  how  pluckily  you  have  fought." 

"Give  in!  "  sneered  Louis  ;  "that  is  all  the  comfort  you  have  for 
a  fellow,  is  it?  Give  in!  why,  would  you  give  in,  if  that  great  brute 
was  in  front  of  your  shop,  swearing  that  he  would  break  it  down? 
No  disgrace,  indeed  !  No,  I  don't  think  there  is  any  disgrace  in 
anything  that  /  have  done  ;  but  though  my  dear,  dear  arbor  that  I 
have  spent  so  many  weeks  in  building  should  be  pulled  down  about 


Give  in,  indeed!  Mon  Dieu. 


my  ears,  and  every  flower  in  my  garden  rooteu  v^,, 

change  places  with  you,  John,  sitting  there  sleek  an< 

for  all  the  gold  that  ever  was  coined!    Give  in,  indeed!     Mon  Dieu  ! 

that  I  should  ever  have  heard  such  a  word  as  that  come  across  our 

little  stream!" 

So  Johnnie  began  to  discover  that,  if  lookers-on  see  the  most  of 
the  game,  they  do  not  always  get  the  most  enjoyment  out  of  it.  But 
the  bell  now  rang  for  dinner,  and  he  followed  the  rest  of  the  Boys 
with  some  anxiety,  not  being  quite  easy  in  his  mind  as  to  the  ac 
count  he  would  have  to  give  to  Mrs.  Europa  of  what  had  been 
going  on. 


I  was  a  neutral. 


30  THE   FIGHT   AT 


"Louis  and  William  are  very  late  to-day,"  observed  the  Dame 
when  dinner  was  half  over.  "Does  any  one  know  where  they  are  ?  " 
And  then  bit  by  bit  she  learned  from  some  of  the  boys  sitting  near 
her  the  whole  story. 

"And  pray,  John,  why  did  you  not  separate  them?"  demanded 
the  Dame. 

"Please,  ma'am,"  answered  Johnnie,  "I  was  a  neutral." 
"A  what,  sir?"  said  she. 
' '  A  neutral,  ma'am. " 

"  Just  precisely  what  you  had  no  business  to  be,"  she  returned. 
"You  were  placed  in  authority  in  order  that  you  might  act,  not  that 
you  might  stand  aloof  from  acting.  Any  baby  can  do  that.  I 
might  as  well  have  made  little  Georgie  here  a  monitor,  if  I  had 
meant  him  to  have  nothing  to  do.  Neutral,  indeed!  Neutral  is  just 
a  fine  name  for  Coward.  Besides,  there  is  no  such  thing.  You  must 
take  one  side  or  the  other,  do  what  you  will.  Now,  which  side  did 
you  take,  I  wonder?  " 

A  titter  ran  round  the  room,  and  the  little  Boys  began  to  whisper 
to  one  another  something  which  appeared  to  be  in  their  small  esti 
mation  an  excellent  joke.  It  was 
good  fun  to  them  to  see  a  monitor 
badgered,  even  if  they  should  get 
paid  out  for  it  afterwards. 

"What  are  you  saying?"  said  the 
Dame.  "  Both  sides,  eh?  Well,  and 
how  did  you  manage  that,  Master 
John?" 

There  was  some  more  tittering  and 
whispering  and  shuffling  about  on 
the  forms,  and  then  a  chorus  of 

Our  neutral  friend.  yoices    gaidj     ^  please    'em,  he  Sucked 

up  to  both  of  them,'" 

"Just  what  'neutrals'  always  do,"  said  Mrs.  Europa ;  "sucked 
up  to  both,  I  suppose,  and  pleased  neither.  Ah,  no  doubt,"  she 
continued,  gradually  gathering  information,  "offended  Louis  by 
always  preaching  at  him  that  he  was  in  the  wrong,  and  offended 
William  by  supplying  Louis  with  stones.  Now,  I  tell  you  what  it 
is,  John.  I  have  long  watched  your  career  with  pain,  and  have 


DAME   EUROPA'S   SCHOOL. 


31 


seen  how  you  are  content  to  sacrifice  everything — duty,  and  influ 
ence,  and  honor — for  the  sake  of  putting  by  a  few  paltry  shillings. 
You  have  been  badly  advised.  You  have  chosen  to  have  about  you  a 
set  of  fags  who  are  no  credit  to  any 
body,  simply  because  they  make  better 
bargains  for  you  in  the  things  you  sell 
to  the  other  Boys  ;  and  now  you  see 
the  consequences.  If  such  fellows  as 
Ben  and  Hugh  had  been  your  fags,  you 
know  very  well  that  this  disgraceful 
scene  would  never  have  taken  place 
at  all.  You  would  have  been  suffi 
ciently  well  trained  and  well  equipped 
to  command  the  respect  of  the  other 
monitors,  and  the  two  rivals  would  not 
have  dared  to  come  to  blows.  There 
was  a  time  when,  if  you  so  much  as 
held  up  your  finger,  the  whole  school 
would  tremble.  Nobody  trembles  now. 
Nobody  cares  one  farthing  what  you 
think  or  say.  And  why  ?  Because 
you  have  grown  a  sloven  and  a  screw, 
and  Boys  despise  both  the  one  and 
the  other.  You  ought  to  have  pre 
vented  the  fight  from  the  very  first. 
Failing  this,  you  ought,  in  conjunc 
tion  with  the  other  monitors,  to  have 
stepped  in  the  moment  the  Boys  had 
proved  their  relative  strength,  and 
struck  a  fair  balance  between  them. 
Instead  of  doing  so,  you  sit  coolly  in 
your  shop,  supplying  the  means  of 
carrying  on  the  fight,  and  coining  a 


England's  if  or  hope. 


Disratli.—"  Aint  1  glad  1  was  not 
tew     wretched,     coppers     out    of    your    around  during  this  scrimmage." 

schoolfellows'  blows  and  wounds.    You 

have  been  a  bad  friend  to  both  of  them.  Well,  some  day,  perhaps, 
you  may  want  friends  yourself.  When  you  do,  I  hope  you  may 
find  them.  Take  care  that  William,  the  peaceable,  unaggressive  Boy, 


32  THE   FIGHT   AT 


does  not  contrive  (as  I  fully  believe  he  will  contrive)  to  get  a  foot 
ing  on  the  river,  where  he  can  keep  a  boat,  and  then  one  fine 
morning  take  your  pretty  island  by  surprise." 

"  Every  dog  has  his  day." 


There  was  a  time. 


"  It  was  Louis'  own  fault,  ma'am,"  urged  John.  "He  began  it 
all.  William  was  only  defending  his  Fatherland." 

' '  Defending  his  Grandmotherland  !"  retorted  the  Dame  contempt 
uously.  "It  looks  very  like  self-defense  to  chase  a  Boy  half  across 
the  play-ground  and  threaten  to  kick  down  his  arbor.  Very  like 
self-defense,  to  train  hard  for  six  months,  and  then  propose  some 
thing  which  is  certain  to  create  a  row.  And  although  Louis  has 
been  in  the  wrong,  he  has  also  been  severely  punished,  and  it  is 
time  that  he  should  be  relieved.  What  !  are  those  who  make  mis 
takes  never  to  be  helped  out  of  them  ?  Is  it  any  the  less  incum 
bent  on  the  strong  to  protect  the  weak,  because  the  weak  has  got 
himself  into  a  mess  by  his  own  fault  ?  However,  there  is  some  ex 
cuse  for  William,  who  is  half  mad  with  the  fever  of  success  ;  but 
there  is  no  excuse  for  you,  who  have  sat  still  in  cold  blood  and  looked 
on.  You  have  abused  the  trust  committed  to  you  as  one  of  the 
five  monitors  of  this  school,  and  your  office  shall  be  taken  from 
you " 

"  Please  'em,"  said  a  chorus  of  little  Boys  together,  "  please  'em, 
do  let  him  off  this  time.  He  was  so  kind  to  Louis  and  William  when 
they  were  bad.  He  brought  them  water,  and  bathed  their  faces, 
and  stopped  the  bleeding,  and  did  all  sorts  of  things  for  them. 
Please  'em  let  him  off." 

"  Well,"  said  the  Dame,  much  affected,  "kindness  to  the  wound 
ed  shall  plead  his  cause  this  once,  and  I  will  think  of  some  punish- 


DAME   EUROPA'S   SCHOOL. 


33 


ment  less  severe.  For  I  have  hopes  of  Johnnie  even  yet,  that  he 
will  rise  to  a  sense  of  his  high  position  in  the  school ;  and  learn  that 
duties  cannot  be  cooly  ignored  because  they  are  disagreeable  ;  that 
he  who  shirks  the  responsibility  of  doing  right  does  in  very  deed 
and  truth  do  wrong  ;  that  the  true  test  of  greatness  is  the  ability  to 


Johnnie's  true  test  of  greatness. 

grapple  with  great  difficulties  ;  that  it  is  but  a  sorry  thing  to  boast 
of  bravery  and  skill  and  power,  if,  just  at  the  very  instant  you  are 
called  upon  to  act,  your  resources  fail  you,  and  you  whine  out  the 
miserable  excuse  that  '  you  don't  exactly  see  how  you  can  interfere. ' 
If,  indeed,  such  an  excuse  be  allowed  to  stand — if  it  be  really  true  that 


NEW      MAP 


John  takes  a  back  seat. 


34  THE   FIGHT   AT   DAME   EUROPA'S  SCHOOL. 


the  head  and  champion  of  the  school  is  thoroughly  beaten  by  cir 
cumstances — utterly  at  a  loss,  at  some  critical  moment,  what  is  the 
right  thing  to  do — let  him  confess  at  once  that  he  is  unequal  to  his 
place — that  he  is  not  the  Boy  we  took  him  for — that  his  courage 
has  been  overrated,  and  his  reputation  as  a  hero  too  cheaply  earned  ; 
that  for  all  his  vaunted  influence  with  others  he  is  too  weak  to 
stay  an  unrighteous  strife — to  avert  a  storm  of  cruel,  savage  blows — 
I  to  spare  the  infliction  of  wounds  which  will  lie  gaping  and  un- 
healed  for  long  years  to  come,  bearing  on  their  ghastly  face  a  bitter 
hatred  for  the  foe  that  dealt  them,  and  contempt  for  the  '  neutral ' 
friend  who  looked  calmly  on. " 


"  His  occupation  gone." 


i3P«: 


LWte-MS"'*" 


agSaltSajsltl 

j  Sr     OB  SS^OfHHpS 

^KjilBim! 


y^  ^        a  p, 

Kg  !^  ^|KP 


To  Merchants,  Banters,  Shippers  and  others. 


"Secrecy,  Accuracy,  and  a  Saving  of  from  50  to  400  per  cent,  in  the 
Transmission  of  Telegraphic  Messages," 

I  BOLTON'S  TELEGRAPH  CODE, 

A  TELEGRAPHIC  DICTIONARY  OF  THE  ENGLISH  LANGUAGE, 

I    Forming  a  Complete  Code  for  the  Transmission  of  Telegraphic  Messages  in  Cypher, 
on  eve>*y  subject,  adapted  to  every  branch  of  business,  and  suited  for  use 
in  any  language. 

THE  ECONOMY  TO  BE  EFFECTED  BY  THE  USE  OF  THIS  CODE  WILL  BE  SEEN  BY 
THE  FOLLOWING  CERTIFICATE- 

"  We   have  witnessed  several  trials   of  BOLTON'S  system  of  coding 
j    messages." 

i        "  These  have  been  transmitted  through  the  Atlantic  Cable,  first  by  the 
«  Morse  Alphabet  in  full,  and  then  codified." 

p-       "  These   messages  have    been    correctly  transmitted,   and   the   time 
~||  occupied  in  doing  so  through  the  Cable  has  shown  a  saving  in  favor  of 
BOLTON'S  Code,  for  messages  of  ordinary  character,  varying  from  50  to 
400  per  cent.,  according  to  the  nature  of  the  message." 

(Signed) 

C.  F.  VARLEY. 
CYRUS  W.  FIELD. 
WILLIAM  THOMSON. 

ADOPTED  BY  MANY  OF  THE  LEADING  MERCHANTS  AND  BANKEBS 
IN  THIS  COUNTRY  AND  ENGLAND. 

Large  4to;  over  1,100  Pages;   Price  $40.00. 

FRANCIS  B.  FELT  &  CO.,  Publishers, 

FEANCIS  B.  FZLT,  WW1HP 

JAMES  W.  TAPPIN.  JX  M  W 

SOLD  BY  SUBSCRIPTION. 


Extract  from  the  New  York  Journal  of  Commerce,  April  6th,  1871. 

"  Great  economy,  accuracy  and  secrecy  are  attained  by  the  code  system  here  ' 

"laid  down.    The  details  appear  complex,  but  are  really  simplicity  itself.    The  " 

"preparation  of  the  great  work  was  a  task  on  the  scale  of  a  cyclopaedia  or  a  new  " 

"  dictionary.     It  contains  nearly  110,000  words  and  sentences,  the  latter  being  " 

Y  "those  constantly  recurring  in  commercial  telegrams." 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

RENEWALS  ONLY— TEL.  NO.  642-3405 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 
Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


fiffc*f  '  9  fr  ^i  Qftfi_  A  1 

"yWI—  f*"*  P*yrfnKi'  yS^ 

e">   ~    TO      -rlfl    ABJ 

t.^  bo   iu  AM 

LOAN   DEPT. 

~^/.  //~y?ip. 

INTPfi-LIBRARY 

LOAN 

DEC  3  1  1963 

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^     ^ 

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.      EK'D  LD  APR! 

i071-2PW.SO>l 

L?^S-»B68      ^^ni^g^» 

.*••;  • 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


